


the beat of my heart, the tips of my fingers

by vaxildxn



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Drunken Shenanigans, House Party, M/M, Making Out, drunk vax can't be trusted, perc'ahlia mentions, rated teen bc no real sex, vaxleth mentions, vex is #extra and knows this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-22 18:00:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13172259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vaxildxn/pseuds/vaxildxn
Summary: Vax has a bad habit when it comes to parties, and Vex has an idea. Percy isn't much help.





	the beat of my heart, the tips of my fingers

**Author's Note:**

> I don't fuckin know my dudes, I forgot I even wrote this until I found it on my google drive. apparently I started it in July? and perc'ildan isn't even my main percy ship?? also i'd like to apologize to my friend who i was supposed to be writing a birthday present for bc I evidently wrote this instead. sorry babe ily <3

"She's got a spreadsheet, of course!" Percy threw up his hands in frustration.

With the hand that wasn't holding out her phone, Vex grabbed his shoulder. "Don't move, I’m fixing my lipstick." She let go, catching her reflection in his glasses and wiping at the corner of her mouth. "It's not my fault going out with my brother is an ordeal, okay?"

Scanlan snatched the phone from her hand and examined the chart, wrinkling his nose. "Or you could  let the guy have some fun for once," he suggested.

Vex pretended to consider the idea then shook her head. "Do you really want to have to track him down when we're all ready to go home? Remember last weekend, with Gilmore?"

Everyone cringed. Vex shot them all an _exactly_ look.

"What about me?" Keyleth reached for the chart, but Vex plucked it from Scanlan's hand before they could trade it off.

"You're off the hook, darling. Conflict of interest."

Keyleth sputtered, face flushing as red as her dress. "What do you-? I haven’t-"

Vex stared her down. "Don't think I didn't hear him doing the walk of shame two weekends ago."

"How did you find out about that?" It was barely a squeak.

Vex tapped her temple as if to say "I know all."

Percy bumped against Keyleth's arm affectionately "Not to mention when you get drunk you're a little..."

"Useless?" Grog offered.

She looked scandalized, but Percy came to her rescue. "I was going to say messy.”

“Regardless, you're free for the night. I'll be taking up the rear and making sure he gets home alive.”

Pike scanned the list and frowned. "I’m first shift?"

"We love you but we all know you can't be responsible past 11."

They continued to argue, but the spreadsheet triumphed in the end.

“Where is Vax anyway?”

Taking a growler from the fridge, Grog huffed, “If he’s fucking pregaming by himself again, I swear...” As much as Vax would deny it, there was a bottle of vodka underneath his bed, and he was usually about three drinks ahead of everyone at any given moment.

Even when nobody else was drinking.

“Well unless he managed to sneak past me, And it's unlikely that he did,” said Vex, “he's still at work.” Twenty two years under the same roof as her brother, and she still hadn't learned all his tricks.

As if on cue, Vax appeared in the doorway, eyes heavy and white button-down shirt stained with whatever the day’s special had been.

“Well you look like hell,” said Percy, matter-of-factly.

Before he even reached the stairs, Vax’s work shirt was off, dropped into the growing pile of “lost causes.”

“I feel like it. One more week…” As soon as he came, he was gone.

Thirty minutes later he reappeared, much cleaner, his long, dark hair loose around his shoulders and the fabled bottle of Grey Goose in his hand. “What are we waiting for?”

Everyone stared at him. Keyleth had already given up, heels in her hand. She sighed, starting to slip them back on. “I swear you're more high maintenance than your sister.”

The two looked to Vex, who was still using a far too compliant Percy as a mirror.

“I’m surprised he isn't bringing a change of clothes in case the mood strikes him,” Scanlan joked. “Does someone have a spare garment bag?”

Vax ignored the jab, brushing past Scanlan and Keyleth, giving a slight eyebrow raise to the latter. Her eyes widened, but her typical blush managed to stay off her cheeks.

“So?” Vax was already out the door. “Ready to rage?”

Any hesitation Grog may have had about Vax’s liquor cache melted away as a grin broke across his face. “Now you're speaking my language!”

But Pike was the second out the door. Percy, with a barefoot Keyleth on his back, took up the rear.

“Are you sure I've been watching the right guy for the past hour?” Pike asked, gratefully accepting her first drink of the night from Percy. “He's been so...subdued.”

For Vax, subdued didn't mean too much, though. His hands lay lightly on some girl’s hips, just inches between their bodies. But by Pike’s judgement, there was no imminent risk of him sneaking off with anyone. Two weekends ago, he'd vanished within the hour.

Percy shrugged. “It certainly makes our job easier. Can you believe Vex, though? This is a whole new—-and she's gone.” He hadn't even finished his sentence before he saw her take her favorite position: right in front of Grog at the beer pong table.

“Typical.”

* * *

 

The couple of shots he’d taken in the first hour should have worn off already, but Percy still felt a distinct haze over his mind. He’d been slacking, more concerned with the music than keeping an eye on Vax. _Well shit._

In a moment of panic, he scanned the crowd, searching for his friend’s sleek black hair. He managed to catch a glimpse of Vax as he stole up the stairs and into the second floor bedroom. But he left the door open. And damn it, Percy was curious.

“It's my job,” he said aloud. “I’m looking out for a friend.” Against his better judgement, he edged toward the door.

“You been followin’ me?” Vax asked the second Percy breached the doorway, his words flowing easily into one another. He sat on the bed, one leg jutting forward, looking up at Percy with inquisitive eyes.

Caught off guard, Percy fumbled for a response. “I was just curious where…”

“Did my sister put you up to this?”

“No, she–”

“Then why did you follow me in here?”

It seemed like bad judgement was going to be the theme of the night. “I was just curious,” he echoed.

“You’re always curious.”

“To a fault, sometimes,” Percy attempted to joke.

Vax laughed and looked up at him, eyes intense under thick black lashes. “Kiss me.”

Percy wanted to say the proposition took him by surprise. But with the way Vax was looking at him, it seemed a natural progression of events.

When it happened, Percy didn’t actually remember who reached out first. He did remember the tug on his shirt, and he certainly recalled resisting a little, confused, as Vax’s fingers ensnared his collar. Percy also remembered how starkly cold Vax’s other hand felt as it found its way under the hem of his shirt. But he wasn't sure if his hand was already pressed to Vax's chest by then.

He gasped a little at the sudden contact, then immediately melted. He fell forward, stumbling a little thanks to the alcohol, but found his place flush against the other man. Percy’s hand moved to Vax’s jaw as he curled his fingers and tilted his face up.

Vax made a low, keening noise as Percy’s nails scraped against his freshly-shaven face. Vax’s grip relaxed ever so slightly on Percy’s shirt. The last part of Percy's subconscious that had been resisting took this as a cue to give in.

A little clumsily, he pressed himself further against Vax, seizing an overdue kiss. He tasted of Coke, but the sweetness of the soda hid the bitter bite of whiskey, his drink of choice.

Then, Vax started full-on moaning, sharp, broken little things. Heat coiled in Percy’s belly, and he was so focused on maintaining composure that he barely noticed Vax’s fingers working at the buttons of Percy's shirt. For as drunk as he appeared, he didn’t seem to have any trouble working the buttons open.

_God, what was he doing?_

Percy pulled away reluctantly, the heat from Vax’s still-parted lips pulsing against his cheek. “I’m sorry, I do want this, I promise. But you’re absolutely wasted, and that would be...improper.”

 _Improper._ Not “wrong,” not “ambiguously consensual.” _Improper._ He’d remember (and cringe at) that one the next morning. And probably the rest of his life. He tried to distance himself from his country club upbringing whenever possible, but some things were harder to shake than others. Speech patterns were one of them.

Vax’s shoulders relaxed and he licked his lips. “Improper, yeah. Sorry about that.”

Percy couldn’t help but chuckle. “Want to go back out there? Dance a little bit?” He wasn’t sure exactly how to wrap this moment up and move on, because frankly, he didn’t want to.

“Need a minute.”

“Would you like me to leave?”

“Yeah.”

So he left, hands still shaking, fingers still bent to the shape of Vax’s jaw, knees unsteady. He took a deep breath to calm down and made his way down the stairs with a lot of help from the handrail.

“How was he?” Grog leaned against the threshold at the bottom of the steps, no hint that he knew what had gone on upstairs on his face.

“A perfect angel,” Percy said through gritted teeth. “A perfect, drunken angel. Speaking of, have you seen Keyleth?”

Before Grog could answer, though, Percy was gone. He stumbled over to the front door, sitting down on the porch. The cool night air was jarring, and the swaying floor snapped to level.

His mind raced. Had it just been a typical drunken, flirty encounter? Vax surely had enough of those that it wouldn’t be out of character. But if not, had he been missing signs from the other man? For how long?

He needed another drink. Or five.

* * *

 

Percy had hoped the Power Hour they used to close out the night would have wiped his memory, but he had no such luck. His eyes cracked open at 11:30 the next morning, a dull throb behind his temples. But his hands still remembered the feeling of Vax’s neck, and his mouth still tasted of whiskey and coke, a drink he was sure he hadn't had himself.

_Fuck._

He reached for his phone. Evidently, everyone else was better off than he, because there was a string of two-hour-old messages in the group chat.

_Kiki: i'm making brunch if anyone wants to stop by! Kima bought a fuckton of bacon and we need to get rid of it_

_Pike: mimosas?_

_Vex: u seriously want to drink after last night?_

_Pike: hair of the dog, right?_

_Grog: look u no im always down for booze but really_

_Pike: who’s the med student here?_

_Scanlan: idc i'm in_

Percy dropped his phone with a groan. He fumbled for the Excedrin that was still in his bedside drawer, and downed two. He was just about to text back an apology when his phone rang.

 _Been caught stealing, when I was-_ Vax. “Hey, man, what’s up?”

“Your window’s locked.”

“What?”

Vax sighed heavily over the phone. “I'm on your fire escape and I can't get the window open.”

Incredulous, he clambered to his feet and pulled aside the curtain. The light from outdoors burned his eyes, but sure enough, there was Vax, looking no worse for wear. “What are you-what the fuck are you doing?”

Vax  stood on the other side of the glass as if this was a perfectly normal situation to be in, a small Tupperware tucked under his arm. “I brought you breakfast from Keyleth’s. Didn't want to make you get up.”

“So you attempted to break into my house? You know I have a gun in here, right?”

Vax shrugged. “I climbed up this fire escape with one arm. You gonna let me in?”

Still unable to fucking believe this guy, Percy unhooked the latches and opened the window. Vax slipped deftly through, handing Percy the container.

“I’m surprised Keyleth was up so early, she was out puking in the bushes before midnight.” Vax settled into Percy’s desk chair and gestured to his sketchbook, as if to ask permission. When he received it, he flipped idly through the pages, before Percy couldn't hold it in any longer.

“What do you remember from last night?”

Vax put the sketchbook down. “Other than finding out my sister has a Vax-Watch schedule to keep me out of trouble?”

“Yeah?” He struggled to keep his face neutral, but a prickly blush crept up his throat.

“Pretty much everything, but it's blurry in places,” he admitted. “Scanlan got boneyarded, I definitely remember that.” That was true. Photographic evidence of the empty cans and bottles was on Grog’s phone and was already making the rounds.

Some of the tension curling in Percy’s shoulders abated. He may be off the hook.

But Vax’s expression changed, the smirk on his face reminiscent of the one he'd given a second before pulling Percy onto his lap. “It was nice if you not to take advantage of me like that. You're a good guy.”

_Fuck. So he did remember doing that._

“But the offer still stands, if you're interested.”

There was no use hiding the flush now. He had _several_ questions, but he only found the words for one. “What about your sister? Wouldn't it be weird for you since she and I…” He trailed off when he realized Vax wasn't listening.

“The offer still stands,” he repeated with a sly half-smile. He slunk out of the room, leaving Percy alone with a Tupperware full of eggs, a pounding headache, and so many questions.


End file.
